We only spent one day in Edinburgh, but it was a great big-city Scotland experience! Edinburgh is the country’s capital and a tourism hotspot with countless shops, restaurants, and parks filled with people having picnics. Since we only had one day, I wasn’t sure what things to do in Edinburgh, but our British friends had some fun plans for us. Here are some highlights and suggestions for planning your own visit to Edinburgh, Scotland!
With multiple UK locations and two Edinburgh locations, this next-level mixology bar should be on your bucket list. We went to their new location on George Street on their opening weekend for brunch and had fantastic service. We got one breakfast dish and three magical cocktails for £30 each (about $40). The food portions were generous, and we tried the entire brunch drink menu between the four of us!
My favorites: the “Color-Changing One” with Ketel One vodka and the “Pop Notch” made with cherry gin and topped with a bubble for you to pop! Check out my Instagram post to see videos of our drinks. Reservations are highly recommended. Again, this was one of our favorite things to do in Edinburgh, and we hope to go to another one of their locations eventually!
Next up on things to do: Victoria Street in Old Town!
Go to Victoria Street for fun shops galore! We walked uphill for about 10 minutes to get here, which is right outside Edinburgh Castle. J.K. Rowling wrote part of the Harry Potter series in Edinburgh, and Diagon Alley is said to have been inspired by this street! There are a multitude of Harry Potter souvenir stores here, along with other witchy and artistic stores, such as Museum Context (pictured).
Victoria Street was completed in 1834, so be aware that the road is cobblestone and might be a deciding factor if you have a stroller, wheelchair, etc. It’s a bit of a trek, but it’s worth it if you’re going to Edinburgh Castle already. There are a LOT of things to do here!
Dinner suggestion in Edinburgh:
For dinner, my lovely friend Tim made our reservations at The Dome, a gorgeous restaurant on George Street. Complete with MULTIPLE chandeliers and professional sommeliers, the atmosphere was elegant, and the waitstaff gracefully whisked around the ballroom serving patrons. Reservations are highly recommended. I enjoyed pesto pappardelle, buttered bread, and a Chardonnay glass! Their dessert menu looked tasty, but we were too full after our entrees to try any. The Dome is a bit pricey, but it’s definitely worth going for dinner if you have it in the budget.
Other locations that we enjoyed: LUSH (chain store and spa, amazing bath bombs) and Princes Street Gardens (in front of Edinburgh Castle, has a pretty fountain and was filled with picnics, children playing, birds, and flowers). For more details on planning a trip to Edinburgh, hop over to another great blog Everything Edinburgh! If you’re deciding on ideas for Edinburgh, this blog is the place to go.
Thanks for catching up! Next stop: Loch Ness and Drumnadrochit 🙂
If you missed the last stop in Crieff, click here!
We only spent one day in Edinburgh, but it was a great big-city Scotland experience! Edinburgh is the country’s capital and a tourism hotspot with countless shops, restaurants, and parks filled with people having picnics. Since we only had one… Read more: Road-Tripping Scotland: 3 Exciting Things to Do in Edinburgh
After months of planning, Jordan and I have finally made it to Scotland! We are road-tripping the Scottish Highlands for two weeks and hope to experience genuine Scottish culture. We had a lot of questions when we first started planning:… Read more: Road-Tripping Scotland: The Little Town of Crieff
I’m back on the mainland and am back spending all my nights at the hospital. I already miss Mexico’s endless sunshine and warm, dry heat! Spring continues in Illinois with sporadic rainstorms and high 60s/low 70s temperatures. To keep my… Read more: 5 Important Facts as We Prepare for the Scottish Highlands!
After months of planning, Jordan and I have finally made it to Scotland! We are road-tripping the Scottish Highlands for two weeks and hope to experience genuine Scottish culture. We had a lot of questions when we first started planning: Where do you stay in Scotland? How can we get around to multiple locations? Do we have to rent a car and drive on the opposite side of the road? What is summer weather like in Scotland? Where can we find food that we will both eat?
Lucky for us (and you!), we found all those answers and more. This Scotland series will answer all your questions about traveling to Scotland, and I’m excited to share what we’re learning about Scottish culture! Without further ado: The Little Town of Crieff!
We flew from Chicago to Glasgow via Icelandair Airlines with a brief layover in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. The first leg was six hours long, and the second leg only took about two hours! We left Chicago at 10:30 pm, slept on the planes as best we could, and were ready to rock & roll by the time we arrived in Glasgow around 1 pm. Our bags arrived as expected (thank goodness), and we caught a taxi to Enterprise down the road.
Tip #1: Don’t expect to Uber out of Glasgow Airport!
Glasgow and Edinburgh, the two largest Scottish cities, have Uber, but none were available when we were there. We waited for about 20 minutes watching the Uber app spin before we realized that taxis were lined up along a designated lane at the airport! The taxi driver popped our luggage into the back, cheerfully greeted us in a lovely Scottish accent, and dropped us off down the road at Enterprise for only £10.
Tip #2: Don’t book a rental car at the Enterprise at the airport!
Enterprise conveniently has another location just three minutes down the road, which is where we picked ours up. We saved 15% on our overall cost just by switching locations!
Everyone at the Enterprise spoke English, and they accepted our U.S. driving licenses with no issues. Some countries require you to get an International Driving Permit before you drive in their country, but since the primary purpose is to translate your license into English, an American license works perfectly fine! Enterprise offers roadside assistance and coverage on tires and glass. Not so fun fact: If someone else hits you here, you’re still liable for the damages up to a certain percentage. We haven’t hit anything yet, so fingers crossed!
UK cars have steering wheels on the right side of the car, and you drive on the left side of the road. Driving as an American is exactly as weird as you’d think! It was nerve-wracking for the first hour or so that we each drove, but we got it down quickly.
Now for the best stuff: Comelybank Guesthouse! We drove one hour north from Glasgow to Crieff, a lovely market town with winding roads and picturesque views. We stayed at Comelybank Bed & Breakfast, which was suggested to us by our British friends Tim and Jack, who we met by chance at Mardi Gras in New Orleans! The men met us for the weekend and introduced us to Tim’s family, who run the B&B during the summer months.
This was such a great stay! It was affordable, beautifully quaint, and centrally located in Crieff. Marion and Ron were gracious hosts, included us as a family since we were with the men as guests, and gave fantastic recommendations for excursions into the town.
Tip #3: If you stay here, try the pub directly next door!
We went each night for hours, drinking and chatting and enjoying the local Scottish culture. Fun fact: During the summertime, the sun doesn’t go down until after 10 pm and rises by 4 am. So strange!
In Crieff, my favorite place that we visited was Drummond Castle Gardens. Turns out, Ron used to be the custodian there before he retired! The castle itself is not open for visitors, but the gardens are gorgeous. This is a great place for outdoor photos. The paths through the gardens are stroller and kid-friendly, and there is a small cash-only snack/coffee trailer that is adorable! Plenty of benches and tables are nearby for a spontaneous picnic in the sunshine. Peacocks also call the grounds home, although they aren’t very interested in people. They were beautiful to look at and happy to freely wander the gardens! Tickets to Drummond Castle Gardens cost £10 for adults, £4 for children 5-16 years old, and £22 for a family (not sure what the qualifications are for family status). I would suggest planning 1-2 hours for this stop.
Our first two days in Crieff were relaxing, and I feel like we got a genuine experience of Scottish culture. Luckily, we still have 12 more days of road-tripping the Scottish Highlands! Onward we go!
I’m back on the mainland and am back spending all my nights at the hospital. I already miss Mexico’s endless sunshine and warm, dry heat! Spring continues in Illinois with sporadic rainstorms and high 60s/low 70s temperatures. To keep my spirits up, I’m diving headfirst into planning our next trip: the United Kingdom and the Scottish Highlands!
Jordan and I will be road-tripping the Scottish Highlands before I meet my husband in London. (Yes, we are huge fans of Outlander!) In June, Colton is turning 30, so we bought tickets to the Cardinals vs. Cubs baseball game at London Stadium! This will be my first visit to Europe, and I am pumped! In honor of our upcoming trip, here are 5 interesting facts about Scotland to enjoy.
1. Though English is the most widely-spoken language in the area, Scotland is still home to “the ancient Celtic language of Gaelic” (Scotland.org, 2023).
Gaelic is most common in the Scottish Highlands and outlying islands such as the Isle of Skye, and we’re lucky to visit both locations on this trip! We are flying into Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, or Glaschu in Gaelic, meaning ‘green glen.’ Don’t ask me how to pronounce it yet! Maybe after we get back to the States? 🙂 Below is a map displaying the population spread of Gaelic-speaking Scots.
2. The best way to explore Scotland is by renting a car.
A train system runs between larger cities (such as Glasgow and Inverness), but there are limited public transportation options in the Highlands. After researching how to get around, we decided to rent a car from Glasgow Airport and explore the Scottish Highlands ourselves! Challenges: Learning to drive on the left side of the road, memorizing traffic signs/signals, getting international driving permits, and preparing to navigate the lochs and glens of the Highlands. Stay tuned on that note!
If you’re looking for more specific information on navigating the Western islands by car, click here for an article that I recommend!
3. Scots use pounds as their currency as part of the United Kingdom (UK).
One English pound is worth $1.25 American dollars at the time of writing. Unfortunately, some items cost more in the UK! The average cost of gas as of April 2023 is $6.60/gallon. A dozen eggs cost $2.67, and a gallon of milk costs a whopping $4.67/gallon!
We will be paying for lots of gas as we explore the Scottish Highlands over a two-week period, so wish us luck that we don’t blow our whole budget on gas! 🙂
4. Scotland’s national animal is the unicorn.
Not kidding! The unicorn has been a significant symbol in Scotland since 1542, when Mary, Queen of Scots, chose unicorns to adorn her royal seal. When depicted in Scotland, the unicorn adorns countless historical buildings, coins, and even the UK Royal coat of arms.
5. The weather in Scotland is notoriously cool year-round.
On average, in Fahrenheit, summer brings a high of 62 degrees and gets as low as 48 degrees at night. Winter stays relatively mild as well, keeping between 32-45 degrees. According to my research, daily weather is labile, and the Western Highlands frequently get more than 100 inches of rainfall yearly. Experienced travelers suggest dressing in layers to be prepared for anything the day might bring. Extra fun fact: The rainjacket was invented by a Scottish man named Charles Macintosh in 1823. Although the spelling has evolved, the Mackintosh company remains a maker of high-quality coats and raincoats!
Have you ever been to the UK? Only 19 more days until we’re in the Scottish Highlands! 🙂
Mardi Gras in New Orleans is one MASSIVE party! Fashion rules go out the window, alcohol can be carried openly down Bourbon Street, incredibly talented musicians serenade every corner, and women decide that shiny plastic beads are worth going topless for. There are multiple ways to “do” Mardi Gras, and I spent hours carefully planning to make sure that we safely got to experience everything New Orleans had to offer! Save yourself some time and use this itinerary as a template for your own trip!
I worked Tuesday night going into Wednesday, our travel day, so we slept during the day before flying out of St. Louis around 7 pm! This is one of my best planning tips for vacationing as a travel nurse (click here for that article!). We both snagged window seats on our Southwest flight to nap before arriving in New Orleans around 10 pm! After a 20-minute Uber into the city and dropping off our bags at the hotel, we found some Willie’s Chicken for dinner (more on that gem later) and tucked into bed.
We chose this hotel because it is located in the historic French Quarter, close to both Bourbon St (the party street) and Canal St (the main parade route). Our room was definitely “historic,” maybe even slightly dated, but it was spotlessly clean, and the bed was very comfortable! The bathroom was small but clean, and the shower was average with good water pressure. Housekeeping services and the concierge were friendly and happy to help with anything we needed. They have a small room with drinks, snacks, and basic necessities for purchase. For my full review on TripAdvisor, click here.
We pre-booked online via Expedia in December, which gave us the option to pay for the entire hotel cost at check-in. We’ve utilized the book-now-pay-later function multiple times for long trips when our accommodations need to be booked far earlier than we can afford. Free cancellation is usually offered up to 2 weeks prior to your check-in date! However, use this option with caution: you need to be able to swipe a credit card at check-in for the entire total of your stay! Our hotel was $170 for the first couple nights we were there, but it jumped to $404 per night once Mardi Gras weekend hit. Be prepared to spend around $500/night if you want to stay in the French Quarter during the peak season. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is serious business, so be prepared to spend more on your accommodations.
Thursday – New Orleans African American Museum
Fair warning, we slept in EVERY day and napped EVERY afternoon! As night-shifters, we looked forward to all the sleep we were going to get during this trip. No shame whatsoever.
After sleeping in, we walked to the river and enjoyed brunch at Cafe Beignet on Decatur Street. There are multiple locations in New Orleans, but ours had breezy open-air seating in a beautiful old building! The food was great, and the view was fabulous. We didn’t have to wait in line at all, easily snagging seats by the windows.
We were determined to walk anywhere that was less than 30 mins away, so we set off with drinks in hand to find the New Orleans African American Museum. Located in Tremé, the oldest African-American neighborhood in America, the museum aims to “preserve the history and elevate the art, culture, and contributions of African Americans in New Orleans” (noaam.org). We spent over an hour here looking through preserved historical photographs, walking through their interactive exhibits, playing jazz on a turntable, and watching an excellent documentary on segregation and the fight for freedom in New Orleans. We would highly recommend going to the Tremé neighborhood to visit this museum!
We found some fantastic BBQ at Pig Out Nola on Toulouse St near our hotel, and their pulled pork cheese fries were to die for! We actually went back again at the end of our trip too!
Friday – Creole Cooking Class and Frenchmen St Pub Crawl
Today we decided to switch it up a bit and cook our own lunch! The Southern Food and Beverage Museum is home to Deelightful Roux School of Cooking, and we had a blast learning to make an authentic Creole meal! Chef Dee and her sous-chef Candy are New Orleans natives and kept us laughing as they taught us to make jambalaya, smothered okra, and bananas foster. I had never made shrimp before, so learning to prep and cook them was a step outside my comfort zone. Chefs Dee and Candy were patient with our inexperience, encouraged us to try our best, and provided a beautiful table for our group to enjoy our meal. There were two other guests in our group, which left plenty of tasks for everyone. Whether you’re an experienced cook or a microwave aficionado, you can learn and participate in the class! Chef Candy even took pictures for us, attached in the slideshow below!
After trekking back to the hotel and taking a (long) nap, we met tour guide Pandi on Frenchmen St for a pub crawl. She led our group through music clubs and cocktail bars to enjoy the incredible talent that graces the historic street every night! The Airbnb Experiences tour included a beverage, a shot, and a glimpse into the real musical culture of New Orleans. For only $40 per person for three hours, I thought this was a steal! We danced the night away with new friends from all over the world, including multiple people from the UK. Highly recommend this tour!
Saturday – Airboat Adventures Bayou Tour and Van Gogh
This was the coldest day of our trip (40 degrees), and we had an outdoor bayou tour planned. We bundled up as best we could and took a 45 min bus ride out to the bayou! We prebooked tickets the week prior on the Airboat Adventures website and chose the “large airboat” option. There were multiple other options, including a smaller airboat and a huge ferry-style boat, but we were happy with the option we chose! For $60/person, we shared an airboat with 15-20 other people but felt like we still had plenty of space. Our boat went FAST once we pulled away from the dock; definitely an adventure tour! We were lucky to see one large gator, a turtle darting into the water, and a bald eagle with her babies in a nest high in the trees. Our recommendation: go on a warm day! Unless the boat stopped to admire the scenery and in the sunlight, the wind in our faces was very cold! Also, according to Airboat Adventure’s website, “alligators are tough to find when temps drop below 70 degrees, no matter what time of year, but they can be found throughout the winter on warmer days.”
Although you can attend in multiple large cities across the country, we chose to spend our free evening visiting New Orlean’s Van Gogh Experience. Renderings of Van Gogh’s most popular paintings were displayed, and the exhibit was very museum-like until we reached the end. An immersive experience awaits at the end of the Van Gogh exhibit in each city, and this one was very relaxing! I attached some pictures below to show you how the walls change constantly, over a loop of about an hour. This is an easy photo opportunity with plenty of space for kids to (quietly) burn off some energy!
We got stuck by a parade on the way back to Bourbon Street from the Van Gogh Experience, and we couldn’t get back into the French Quarter for over two hours! We couldn’t squeeze through the crowds to get close enough to catch throws, so we went to The Roosevelt Hotel Bar to kill time. The parades are gorgeous and extravagant, but you definitely want to plan accordingly before you go to one. For fantastic tips directly from a New Orleans local, click here!
Sunday – Professional Photoshoot and Cemetery Tour
One of my FAVORITE activities to book on a trip is a professional photo shoot! Airbnb Experiences offers photoshoots in almost every city for around $50 per person. We booked a photoshoot in New Orleans for $50/each two weeks prior to the actual trip. Colton and I have done this in cities like Las Vegas, Nashville, San Francisco, etc. I love booking these because I don’t have to stress about getting high-quality photo memories of my trip: the photographer does all of that for me! Even if you’ve never had a photoshoot before, I highly recommend trying this. This is who we booked with both this year and last year!
Next, we toured St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, one of the most historic cemeteries in the area. Famous occupants include New Orleans voodoo queen Marie Laveau, civil rights activist Homer Plessy, and legendary chess champion Paul Morphy.
The only way to visit the cemetery is to book a tour online. I expected the cemetery tour to be expensive or difficult to get tickets for, but I was pleasantly surprised that it only cost $25 per person! We booked online six days in advance, more last-minute than I prefer, but they had plenty of options left. Our tour guide was clearly experienced and comfortably shared stories about the cemetery’s occupants. He waited for everyone in the group to catch up between stops, encouraged taking photos, and left ample time for questions. This tour is outdoors by nature, so watch the weather!
Monday & Tuesday – Lundi Gras & Mardi Gras
While we planned to go out on Lundi Gras, both of us were tired, and Jordan requested a rest day. We stayed in our hotel room, watched movies, and only ventured out onto Bourbon Street to find food! Doordash, Uber Eats, and other food delivery services can’t function in the French Quarter as it gets close to Mardi Gras because all the streets close for parades. Uber rides are the same way, so be prepared to walk or stay put if you stay in this area of town.
On Mardi Gras, we explored, walked around, peeked in shops, and ate food! Mardi Gras in New Orleans is intense, so I highly recommend scheduling naps and/or times to just wander the quieter areas of the city. Since we didn’t have pre-planned activities for this day, here are a few of our favorite restaurants that we enjoyed!
Cafe Maspero – $1 daiquiris served all day long and DELICIOUS beignet fries! They open doors on two sides of the restaurant to create an open-air vibe, so we happily snagged the last table with a good view!
Pig Out Nola – We went here on Thursday already, but the food was solid with no wait time, so we happily went back again! They don’t serve alcohol, but they have Coke products with refills allowed and plenty of seating available (indoor and outdoor).
The Will and the Way – Late-night snacks, outdoor seating with heaters, an extensive wine and cocktail menu, and daily happy hour. If you go here, check out the Polaroid photo we took to add to their wall!
Chemin à la Mer – “With panoramic views of the Mississippi River, enjoy a curated menu of Louisiana fare expertly executed with French technique,” located within the Four Seasons hotel. Our new friend Jeff added us to his reservation, and we stayed here for hours! Our service was fantastic, but make sure you skim the menu online before you book. (My suggestion: Go at sunset for the best view!)
Wednesday – Tattoo Appointment and Packing Suitcases!
Jordan got a tattoo in Salem, Massachusetts when we visited last year, so she suggested getting tattoos in New Orleans before we left! She made us each an appointment via phone two weeks prior at Electric Ladyland, a tattoo parlor in the Marigny neighborhood near the French Quarter. With hundreds of positive reviews, Electric Ladyland runs 8-10 tattoo stations as well as a piercing station. We had appointments for 4 pm, and we only waited about 10 minutes to start our tattoos. They do take walk-ins but be prepared to have a longer wait! My artist, Josh, was patient with me as I got my first tattoo and got the exact result that I wanted!
Getting a nostalgic reminder of my childhood: Appa from Avatar The Last Airbender
After getting our tattoos and grabbing food on the way to our hotel, we packed our suitcases and went to bed early for our 6 am flight. We got plenty of rest and fully recovered from the Bourbon Street madness before we flew back home!
Have you ever been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans? Got restaurant suggestions for my foodie heart? Drop them below or shoot me a message!
